The aftermarket is a sector often criticised for its short sightedness and was once described by a senior trade association official as being run by “dinosaurs”. But new products are constantly entering the ever-expanding marketplace in a bid to keep pace with technology and well-chosen pieces of equipment could prove to be an investment well worth making. Dealers and repairers alike could add to their bottom line by investing in equipment that offers additional services to customers and cuts down on labour costs. Wheel alignment is one technology that equipment manufacturers claim can boost profits. Paul Beaurain, managing director of wheel alignment retailer Pro-Align, said the businesses that invested now would be ahead of the competition in the future. “Garages that will be profitable in the future will be those that invest in equipment now, a fact that has been highlighted in reports. Where people have invested they are getting a return. Forward thinking tyre fitters are already making the necessary investment and Kwik-Fit have just bought 12 new alignment systems. Beaurain said in other countries such as the US you would find a high standard of kit fairly commonplace but that was not the case in the UK. “There is a lack of four-wheel alignment systems in the UK, most tyre shops use trolley jacks. In terms of tyre fitting, the level of sophistication is not as good as it could be in this country.” Beaurain said that he hoped the Model Tyre Retailer stand at the recent Aftermarket Show would help raise industry awareness. “It's an opportunity to show people what they should be expecting when they visit a workshop,” he added. Other manufacturers in the aftermarket are also launching new products aimed at reducing repair times. new launch Supertracker is a Southampton-based wheel alignment company that is set to expand its product line-up next month. Previously the company has focussed mainly on alignment systems but it is set to launch a new wheel balancer next month under its Balatron brand. Managing director Trevor Lovesy said he hoped to capitalise on the company's database of wheel align customers and sell to progressive small businesses in the aftermarket. “This is a new product launch for us and we're aiming it at tyre shops and small businesses that want to boost their bottom line. Nowadays it's all to do with labour saving and boosting profitability and theoretically a wheel balancer could halve the labour time on a balancing job.” Lovesy said the difference between purchasing equipment in the wheel and tyre sector and other areas of the aftermarket was that the sector did not change as rapidly as other markets. “The wheel and tyre industry is a stable market and there aren't many huge technological advances so wheel alignment and balancing kit have longevity and a longer shelf life.” Lovesy warned that dealers and repairers were losing thousands of pounds off the bottom line because they were not prepared to invest in new technology. “We estimate that if a company carries out an average of three wheel alignments a day that would put an additional £22,000 on a company's bottom line within 12 months,” Lovesy said. “There's also the opportunity to increase the turnover on each car through the garage doors because additional faults will be spotted – there are added jobs that alignments bring.” Lovesy said the majority of garage owners suffered from “tunnel vision” and were not interested in the aftermarket. But he said: “Slowly but surely it will change, the younger guys coming into the aftermarket are a lot more familiar with technology, which can only be a good thing.” In other areas of the aftermarket labour saving methods can also be found. New tools are constantly entering the marketplace in tandem with new products from carmakers, which can assist in driving down labour times. Bob Little, managing director of tool manufacturer Klann, said that developments in the tool industry had helped increase repairer's profitability in recent years. “The most important things for companies now are safety and speed, businesses want to cut labour costs but they want to do it a safe way,” Little said. “Compared to traditional working methods modern tools make for a far quicker turnaround on jobs.” keeping pace Little said that the car manufacturers and their production of new models drove the tool industry and new technology entering the market — it meant that repairers and dealers had to keep pace. “The technology used by manufacturers ultimately has an effect on how we make tools, we are constantly evolving as our business is driven by theirs but product awareness among repairers is generally good across the board and they realise the benefits that acquiring new equipment can bring.” Diagnostic equipment also offers another potential revenue stream to companies in the aftermarket. One niche area of the market is petrol injector diagnostics and it is a sector that is set to grow. Fuel injection systems have become more commonplace in new cars in recent years and diagnostic companies claim that businesses, which offer a diagnostic service could add to the bottom line. Philip Ellisdon, managing director of diagnostic company ASNU, said aftermarket companies would benefit if they were prepared to invest. “Fuel injection diagnostics are an important part of the aftermarket and this type of equipment allows a business to correctly diagnose problems and offer a better service. If you can't examine things like fuel distribution and fuel delivery then you cannot correctly solve fuel injection problems.” Ellisdon said the UK aftermarket focussed too much on fixing the fault rather than curing the problem and that other countries were more advanced in adopting new technology. “Less than 5 per cent of the 30,000 garages in the UK are able to repair petrol fuel injection systems because of a lack of investment and training in new technology. Around 97 per cent of our business comes from exports because this country doesn't understand the technology. We have some of the world's best engineers here but we don't utilise what we've got.”